1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle lighting systems and more particularly to a headlighting and sidelighting assembly for an off-road vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Headlights for vehicles are known in various configurations. The conventional headlights typically include a housing, as well as a reflector, a lens, and a light source located between the reflector and the lens. Vehicles of various types, including automobiles and some conventional lawn tractors, have headlamps for producing light forward of the vehicle at night. The direction of illumination of the headlamps is typically fixed so that the main beam of light is applied directly forward of the vehicle. However, when the vehicle is traveling along a curve, the headlamps may not be able to sufficiently illuminate objects ahead of the vehicle. In other words, during travel along curves and in cornering, hazardous objects located in the path of the vehicle may not sufficiently be illuminated by the headlamps.
In addition, the need for cornering illumination may be amplified in the case of vehicles which do not have the cornering characteristics of a conventional automobile. For instance, where the vehicle is capable about a spin turn about its rear axle, even greater need exists for extending a beam of light to the side or rear of the vehicle to provide sufficient illumination. Vehicles such as lawn and garden tractors carrying vegetation cutting decks present a further dilemma in that the deck often extends beyond sides of tractor so that illuminating the path of the deck may require a wider and more rearwardly directed beam than required for illumination of the tractor path.
In an attempt to provide better lighting for operating a vehicle along curves and in cornering, vehicle cornering headlamp systems (such as that taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,323 issued to Shibata et al.) have been developed in which the direction of illumination of the headlights is varied in association with a steering wheel turning operation so that objects located in the actual path of the vehicle are illuminated. In addition, sidelighting arrangements, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,512 issued to Mouzas, are known to provide auxiliary lighting to the side of a vehicle under certain conditions. Also, some off-road vehicles, such as combines, have been provided with lighting systems for nighttime operation which include multiple floodlights disposed about the front and sides of vehicle. Each of these conventional lighting arrangements, however, represents substantial additional expense and is unduly taxing on the vehicle""s electrical system.
The present invention is an improved headlight assembly for projecting illumination to the front and sides of an off-road vehicle. The headlight assembly takes the form of a pair of light housings at opposite sides of the front of a vehicle, each open toward the side and front of the vehicle. Each housing holds a light-emitting element and a reflector. The reflector forms divergent inner walls of the light housing, a first wall extending forwardly and inwardly (toward the longitudinal centerline of the tractor) and a second wall extending rearwardly and outwardly. The elements and reflectors on each side cooperate produce beams which overlap at the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle and extend rearward to effectively illuminate an area greater than 180xc2x0 about the front of the vehicle.